The Siege of East High
by grumpyheroine
Summary: The strangest thing that could ever happen at East High has happened: An invisible barrier has appeared around the school, preventing anyone from getting in or out. The students of East High are being held captive in their own school. By who? An evil new principal who claims the old one is dead. What will happen to Gabriella and the gang?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One:**

Gabriella Montez walked wearily into school. She was exhausted, having been unable to sleep much lately. Her long, dark curly hair was a mess, and had been hastily pulled into a ponytail, and she was dressed pretty sloppily as well. She had dark shadows under her coffee brown eyes, and her olive skin tone was lighter than it usually was. As she stepped through the doors of East High, sparks flicked into her vision, before vanishing.

"Hey, Gabby!" someone called. A guy with a lot of very bouncy hair practically _ran_ over to her. Either he had a lot of sugar in his system, or the guy was naturally hyper.

Gabriella mumbled a greeting, yawning hugely. Chad Danforth, who had just bounced over, yawned as well.

"Don't do that!" he said. "It's contagious!"

"Sorry," Gabriella mumbled. "Why all the excitement Chad?" she asked.

"Why? WHY?!" Chad grabbed her shoulders, shaking her violently. She let him do it, her head snapping backward and forward from the force, and she was too tired to try to pull herself together. "Why, you ask? How dare you! You should be ashamed! You call yourself a Wildcat?"

"Get to the point," she said, wishing he'd stop shaking her. Miraculously, he did.

"You seriously don't know what today is?" Chad asked, mouth wide open.

"Why don't you enlighten me?" Gabriella replied, starting to walk down the hall to her locker.

"Okay." Chad gave her a funny look. "Um, today is the state championship _basketball_ game."

"I thought it was last month against West High?" Gabriella replied. "You know, the time we practically blacked out the school just so Troy and I could make the callbacks?"

"That? Psshaw! That was just a warm up for today. Today, we rule the world!"

Gabriella raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure I like the sound of the world being ruled by a bunch of teenagers," she said, grinning slightly despite her exhaustion. Then it struck her like a blow. "Oh, right! _That_ game!"

"_Yes,_" Chad said in a tone as if he was speaking to a little kid. "_That_ game. The one Troy probably hasn't shut up about yet."

"I knew that," Gabriella said. She arrived at her locker. _Well, speak of the Devil._

There he was, his sandy-blond hair swept to the side, and his pale blue eyes sparkling. Gabriella's heart did a double-take when she saw him. He had been waiting for her. When he saw her and Chad coming, he smiled.

"Hey, Wildcat," she said, using her favorite nickname for him.

Chad grinned goofily. "I'm going to go find my basketball. It disappeared to somewhere. I'll be back in a little while. Be good, kids," he added with a snicker. He laughed even more as he saw the red creeping into Gabriella's cheeks.

Troy ignored him, and walked over to Gabriella. "Hey," he said as she walked over to her locker and started to put the number code in.

"Hey," she replied, and yawned again.

"What time have you been going to sleep lately?" he asked with concern. She looked up.

"Hmm? Usually eleven thirty or something. I just haven't been able to sleep lately," was the response. Her locker door swung open, and she put her bag in it. "Homeroom now," she said to herself, taking out a random notebook.

Troy looked up. "Who's that? I don't remember ever seeing her around school."

Gabriella looked up as well. A woman was walking down the hall. She was short, shorter than Gabriella, and slightly heavyset, with a pencil skirt and fancy jacket, and wearing heels. Her expression was stern, and she was flanked by two large men, who appeared to be acting like bodyguards.

"Inspector of some kind?" Gabriella suggested. She pulled off her jacket and put it in her locker as well. Just then Chad returned, dribbling his basketball. "Think fast, Gabster!" he yelled, throwing it. Gabriella tried to catch it, but being caught off guard, it bounced out of her fingers and rolled away. She chased after the ball, until it stopped when it bumped into something. She bent down to pick it up, and found herself looking at high heels. She raised her gaze to come with the cold gaze of the strange woman.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked icily.

"Um… just getting the ball," Gabriella said, straightening up.

"Getting the ball," the woman replied mockingly. "What's your name, girl?"

"Er, Gabriella Montez," Gabriella replied.

"Miss Montez, this is a school. You don't throw balls around. Now, I want you in my office with your friend later today for detention," she said.

Chad frowned. "You mean me?" he asked.

"Yes, Mister…"

"Danforth," Chad said grumpily.

"Mr. Danforth and Ms. Montez. I want you both in my office at exactly three thirty. Am I clear?"

"Uh, where's your office?" Gabriella asked.

"You mean you don't know where the principal's office is?"

"I know where the principal's office is. I just don't know where yours is," Gabby explained, backing away.

The woman glowered at her, and Gabriella shrank away. Chad walked over. "My office _is_ the principal's office," she said coldly.

"Then where's the principal's office?" Chad asked stupidly.

"My office, Mr. Danforth. I'm the principal."

"What? What happened to Mr. Matsui?" Troy asked, joining them.

"He had a heart attack," the new principal replied.

"Oh!" Gabriella said worriedly. "Is he okay?"

"He's dead."

All three friends looked horrified. Gabby was staring at the principal with her mouth wide open. She sounded so calm when she said he was dead, as if she couldn't care less.

They just stood there, speechless.

Gabriella opened her mouth to speak, but the new principal held up her hand for silence. Gabriella tried to speak anyway, but no sound came out. She closed her mouth, chewing her lip, uncomfortable under the principal's piercing gaze.

"Good. Now, get to class," the principal said stiffly. Gabriella turned to hand Chad his favorite basketball, but one of the principal's bodyguards's snatched it away. She jumped in fear and surprise, bumping into Troy. He helped her regain her balance. "No balls," the principal said. "Good day. I'll see you two in detention." And she walked off.

"She scares me," Chad mumbled.

"Me too," Gabriella said.

Chad turned to the brunette. "You're scared of everything."

"I am not!" she said defensively.

"Sure you are. Everything from spiders to horror movies."

"I'm not _afraid_. I just don't like spiders. I'm not scared of them. And everyone's afraid of horror movies. I don't see what's so fun about being scared when watching horror movies," Gabriella snapped.

"Chad, knock it off," Troy snapped before Chad could say something else.

Chad shrugged. "Whatever. I'm going to class before that monster of a woman comes back and does something else terrible." The other two nodded, and they all walked off to homeroom.

Ms. Darbus, oddly, wasn't there yet, especially since the warning bell had already ringed. Gabriella sat down in her seat at the back of the class, and held eye contact with Troy for a minute, smiling at him. He winked, and sat down.

Grinning to herself, Gabriella started fumbling around with her textbooks, checking her homework assignment.

"Miss Montez. _Miss Montez._"

Gabriella blinked tiredly and opened her eyes. What had happened? She looked around. She was still at her desk, but the classroom was empty, except for Ms. Darbus who was standing in front of her, looking down with a grim expression.

"Wha—Where—how—?" Gabriella blinked back sleep.

"Are you feeling okay? Class ended eight minutes ago," Ms. Darbus said. "You might want to go to the nurse's office."

"I'm fine," Gabriella said, climbing shakily to her feet. "Eight minutes?"

"Yes."

"Oh no." That left her with only two minutes to get her books, and get to her next class—and figure out what her class was. Groaning, she dashed out of the classroom and down the hall, leaping down a staircase, and sped around a corner. She stumbled, and fell forward, sliding across the floor. Grumbling, she climbed back to her feet and continued to race to class. She got to her locker, and tried to open it, but her haste made her clumsy, and she got the combination wrong. It took her three goes before she succeeded, and the locker finally swung open.

What was her next class again? She wracked her brains, trying to remember, but all she got was a blank.

She pulled out her folder, flipping through the neat pages, looking for her schedule. It took her a while before she finally found the page, way toward the back, and scanned her schedule. Calculus. She shoved her folder into her locker, and scrambled to find her Calculus book. Then she pulled it out, slammed the locker door shut, and sprinted to class.

When she arrived, she was red-faced, out of breath, and panting tiredly. She pushed the door open.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, Mr. C—" she froze. Everyone in the class turned to stare at her. Including, at the front of the class, not Mr. Collin, as she had been expecting to see, but the new principal.

"Ms. Montez, when I went through your student file, I expected to find a much better mannered young lady than this. So far, you have proven otherwise. Playing ball in the halls, late for classes, I hope you don't do anything else. You'll be working quite late tonight," she said.

"But I—" Gabriella protested.

"No buts, girl. Now, get down to my office. I'll see you sooner than I thought."

Gabriella paled. Sighing, she turned around and left the class, walking towards the principal's office with her shoulders hunched over. This couldn't be good.

**Okay, first chapter. I've had this idea in my head for a long time. No worries, this new Principal is about to get much worse. What will Gabriella and Chad's detention be like? What will happen with the state championships? ...Will there be state championships?**

**Well, that's the wrap up for today. Don't forget to review. Constructive criticism will be gladly recieved. That's it for no, then. -Sheva**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO:**

Gabriella stood in front of the door to the principal's office. It read, Principal Jennifer Donalds.

Donalds. So that was the woman's name. Why did it seem so familiar?

"Too much watching Mickey Mouse, Gabby," she said to herself. She wondered if she was supposed to knock, or go in, or wait in the secretary's office…

"Gabriella Montez?" said a voice.

Gabriella turned around. "Uh, yeah," she said, her throat suddenly gone dry.

"I've been waiting for you. Sit down." The woman who stood in front of her was unfamiliar, but apparently had been sitting at the secretary's desk, as the chair was still moving slightly. The woman pointed to a chair in the corner of the room. Gabriella sat down timidly.

"Look, I think there's a bit of a mistake here," Gabriella said. "I really didn't do anything wrong. I just—"

"Shut up," the secretary snapped. "Sit down and keep your mouth shut."

Gabriella sat down and kept her mouth shut.

It was a short wait. A few minutes late Principal Donalds arrived with her two bodyguards.

"Ah, good, I see you're here, Ms. Montez."

Gabriella looked up nervously. "Uh, yeah…"

Donalds gestured for Gabriella to follow her into her office. Hesitantly, the pretty brunette obeyed, stepping into the room. The office had been completely changed from when Mr. Matsui had been working there. Gabriella had only been there once, which was when she'd first arrived at East High, months ago, but she could see a huge difference. The desk had been pushed aside, and there seemed to be a lot more paperwork around. And taking up one of the entire walls was a large machine-thing, glowing blue, and pulsing with some kind of energy.

Gabriella gulped.

Donalds smiled coldly at her. "Ms. Montez, your behavior today has been unacceptable."

"Um…" Gabriella stared at her shoes. "I just—haven't—"

"Let me finish speaking," Donalds snapped, backhanding the teenager across the face. Gabriella flinched, but recovered on time to replace her expression with a glare.

She stared at Donalds in shock. "You—You just hit me!" she exclaimed.

"Would you like another slap?" Donalds asked coolly. "As far as I'm concerned, I will do whatever it takes to maintain discipline at this school. I think beating children is an excellent way to keep them in line. Which is why you're here."

"T-to beat me? You're kidding, right?" Gabriella was feeling uneasy. "You can get arrested for that! If you do anything, you _will_ be arrested."

Donalds snorted. "I'd like to see the police _try_ to get into this school."

"What do you mean?"

"It's none of your business, girl. I'm in charge here. You just do as I say."

Gabriella was ready to call the police then and there. Donalds's bodyguards came in, barring Gabriella from the door. Her heartbeat began to pick up, pounding against her chest so hard, she was sure everyone could hear it.

Donalds seemed to sense her fear, and looked satisfied from it. She gestured to a chair. "Sit down, Ms. Montez."

Gabriella eyed the chair. Images of those spiked chairs used for tortures in medieval times flashed through her mind. The chair showed no sign of any sharp objects about to be thrust into her back, but it didn't match the furniture in the room eaither. It _did_ look like the kind of chair someone could be tied to.

"D-do I have to?" she asked.

"No," Donalds shrugged, looking amused.

"Really?"

"Really. But Greg and Larry are going to beat you up anyway." And with that, the principal left the room, and Gabriella stood rooted on the spot, staring at the two large men in front of her.

"When she said beat, she meant like, beat, as in, beat eggs to help make lunch… right?" she asked, suddenly feeling _very_ small. Being 5'2", standing in the shadow of two men who were almost seven feet tall, Gabriella felt like an insect. And with those looks they were giving her, she was probably about to be squashed.

Larry grinned at her question. "Nope," he replied, slamming her into the wall. Gasping, she slid to the floor. "Get the paddle," he told his friend. "Donalds said to do this the old fashioned way."

Gabriella's eyes widened.

Chad was bored. The school day was slow, the new principal was weird, Gabriella was absent from all his classes, and Troy just didn't react as well as the quiet yet short-tempered brunette did when he threw wads of paper at the basketball star's head.

As he sat in Chemistry, copying Taylor's exact actions while working with the chemicals so he wouldn't blow the class up, the bell rang.

"YES!" Chad said, dropping everything, causing smoke to drift out of his small glass phial. "My favorite class!"

"It's lunchtime, Chad. Not a class," Taylor reminded him.

"I know!" Chad said enthusiastically. "It's my favorite class!"

Taylor rolled her eyes.

"Dude, wait up!" Troy said, grinning, as he followed his best friend out of the science lab. Taylor tagged along, looking around curiously.

"Have you guys seen Gabriella today? She was supposed to be in my History class, but wasn't," the dark skinned girl said. "Which is weird because, well, it's Gabriella were talking about. Wouldn't miss a class for the world, even if she did hate it."

"No," Chad replied. "I wonder if she ran home. Why, that coward! Why didn't she tell me? I would have gone with. We could have spent the day at the ice cream place instead of going to detention!"

"She wouldn't do that," Troy replied. "And I know what happened. She came in late for Calculus."

"So? Mr. Collins would forgive her."

"Yeah, Chad. But the new principal, Ms. Donalds, came in to introduce herself and, er, threaten us to behave, and wasn't too happy Gabby was late. I think she was sent to the office."

"Oh."

"I met the new principal earlier," Taylor spoke up. "She seemed in a rush to somewhere. Yelled at me to get out of her way. She makes Sharpay seem super sweet."

"Whoa, don't even go there," Chad said.

"Gabby!" Troy called, spotting his girlfriend.

Gabriella jumped, yelping. She had her back to the three of them.

"Whoa, Gabs, why so jumpy?" Troy asked. Gabriella turned around to look at him. "…And what happened to your eye?"

"Two words. New. Principal," she mumbled, pressing the ice to her swollen eye. Chad also noticed she walked with a slight limp, clutching her side as she did.

"What did she do?" Troy demanded.

Gabriella smiled wearily. "Troy, relax. You don't have to be so protective. I can take care of myself."

"Which is why you have a black eye," Chad said.

"Who's side are _you_ on?" Gabriella asked.

"Mine," the afro-haired kid said, grinning.

Gabby pouted, and Troy, Taylor and Chad laughed.

"Wow, you should compete with Sharpay for drama queen," Troy said. Gabriella grinned.

"Nah, she still wins by far."

They walked slowly to lunch, joking and laughing, forgetting about the day's oddities and Gabriella was too absorbed in the conversation to think about her bruised knee and side.

They entered the cafeteria, after Troy had gotten his lunch from his locker. The four friends got in line to buy food.

Gabriella frowned. She was getting a funny feeling, as if today's lunch was the best meal she'd have for a long time. _That's ridiculous, _she thought. _After school—er, detention, today, you'll go home._

So why did she feel so nervous?

Pushing the thoughts aside, Gabriella got her lunch and a carton of milk, and walked over to the table. Kelsi, Zeke, Jason, and Martha were already there eating. They greeted the four, who sat down.

"Hey, can I join you guys?" Ryan asked, passing by.

The other nodded, and Ryan sat next to Gabriella.

"What happened to your eye?" he asked.

She sighed. "The new principal."

"Ah."

The two ate in silence for a while as everyone else talked. It was rather amusing, Gabriella thought, watching. How they were all so different and sitting here eating lunch was so funny with the way their differences clashed. Troy and Chad were trying to listen to Zeke explaining one of his recent recipes, while Taylor and Kelsi discussed school. Kelsi looked bored.

Jason was saying random stupid things, and Martha had a pair of headphones in as she moved to her music.

Gabby smiled to herself. They were all such great friends, and didn't even realize it.

She laughed at herself, and Ryan gave her a funny look. _Oh, stop being so sentimental, _she scolded herself, but smiled at all her friends anyway.

"Attention, students!"

Gabriella looked up. Ms. Donalds's voice blared over the intercom.

Silence fell over the cafeteria fairly quickly.

"All students are to report to the auditorium after school to be appointed their new dormitories. Anyone who does not come to the auditorium will receive _serious consequences._"

Gabriella straightened in her seat at that tone of voice.

"Dormitories?" Troy said. People started speaking in feared hushed whispers. "What did she mean _dormitories?_ This is a public school! Not a boarding school."

Gabriella glared at her food as her friends discussed this new bit of news.

Dormitories? What happened to going home?

What was Donalds up to?

Gabriella felt herself glaring even harder at her sandwich. Usually, she had a pretty big appetite. Not today. It was suddenly gone.

**That's chapter two. Not the most exciting, but the next chapter should be better. I'm in a rush to go, so I can't say much more. Enjoy! Don't forget to review!**


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